Cycling: Key mountain bike races coming to area in August

State champions will be crowned and key points will be earned in the New England Championship Series in two mountain bike races in Central Massachusetts next month.

The state championships will be held at the 17th annual Hodges Village Dam Mountain Bike Race, presented by Team Bike Alley as part of the Root 66 Northeast XC Race Series, at Hodges Village Dam in Oxford on Aug. 5.

The Treasure Valley Rally, presented by Team Bums at the Treasure Valley Scout Reservation in Rutland on Aug. 26, will be awarding important points in the Eastern Fat Tire Association New England Championship Series.

Teams Bums hosted the first race at Treasure Valley in 2008. The race has grown each year, attracting 222 racers last year and a total of 774 over four years. This year, organizers are shooting for 300 racers.

“We keep looking for ways to make TVR accessible to others who aren’t hard core racers. We’ve added a youth/first timers race and have negotiated with EFTA to reduce the costs associated with those racers to make it more financially accessible,” said race director Brett Russ, a member of Team Bums.

The Central Massachusetts bike club, known for carving some of the best mountain bike trails in the region, has built and maintained more than 10 miles of trails at the Scout camp.

“The course is around nine miles of pure New England mixed terrain riding. It’s about two-thirds singletrack with plenty of technical challenge and the rest is doubletrack, mostly on climbing sections, which makes it easier for riders to pass,” Russ said.

There are five stream crossings on the course, Russ said. The group is working on some new singletrack that could be ready for the race.

The racing will begin at 10 a.m., with first-timers, youths and Scouts racing on a 4-mile course.

Elite men will race 27 miles beginning at 11 a.m.; elite women, expert men and women, singlespeed men and women will begin at 11:05 a.m. and race 20 miles; sport men and women and touring category will race 20 miles starting at 11:10 a.m.; novice, Clydesdale and tandem ride 8 miles beginning at 11:15 a.m. The free kids races begin at noon on a special course.

In addition to the competitive racing, there will be swimming available at the beach and a barbecue after the race, which benefits the Boy Scouts of America Mohegan Council of Central Massachusetts.

Treasure Valley Scout Reservation is not open to the public, but the race is an opportunity to ride the trails that Team Bums and Scouts have worked on for years.

“The biggest thing we’re doing here, besides bringing a major charitable MTB race to Central Massachusetts, is forging a more formal relationship with Treasure Valley to make official all the trail maintenance, building and mapping that we’ve been doing there over the past six years,” Russ said. “To that end we’re joining forces to get some Team Bums members joined up with Boy Scouts of America and developing a mountain biking program at Treasure Valley, coupled with mountain bike specific loops based on ability, a pump track, a beginner’s area and so on. We’re also evaluating the best way to allow limited access to the trail network to people outside the Scouting/Team Bums community.”

To get to Treasure Valley Scout Reservation from Worcester, take Route 9 and pick up Pleasant Street (north)/ Route 122 toward Worcester Regional Airport and Paxton. Follow Route 122 past the airport, through Tatnuck Square and Paxton Center and into Rutland. About 1.2 miles past Bedrock Golf Course, turn left at the next intersection onto Pleasantdale Road (there is a Mobil gas station and convenience store on the corner). Follow Pleasantdale Road approximately 2 miles, and Treasure Valley Scout Reservation entrance is on the right side.

The Hodges Village Dam race has hosted several state championships in recent years.

The course, about six miles, is fast but technical. It features a lot of singletrack with fast switchbacks, short steep climbs and descents, technical challenges such as rocks and roots, and hard-packed doubletrack. The roller-coaster section on the west side of the French River near the dam is a rider favorite at Hodges.

The event attracts about 200 racers each year.

In addition to the pro, Cat 1, Cat 2 and Cat 3 divisions, there are races for kids and first-time racers.

The Cat 3 races start at 9:30 a.m., and the group rides two laps for a total of 12.6 miles; first timers start at 9:30 a.m. and ride one lap of 6.3 miles; pro/Cat 1 races at 11:30 a.m., Cat 1 riding 4 laps totaling 25.2 miles and pros riding five laps totaling 31.5 miles; and Cat 2 rides at 2 p.m. over three laps for 18.9 miles. The children’s races will be held at 11 a.m.

Hodges Village Dam, a recreation area of about 1,200 acres west of Route 12 along the French River, is managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

To get to Hodges Village Dam from Worcester, north and east, take Interstate 395 south to Exit 4B to Oxford, go through Oxford center and continue straight for half a mile to Howarth Road, turn right and follow to the dam. From the west, take the Massachusetts Turnpike to the Auburn exit to I-395 to Exit 4B.

Mark Conti can be contacted by email at mconti@telegram.com.

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